The Spread Eagle Becomes London's First Vegan Pub

The plant-based bar opens this week as the first fully vegan establishment of its kind in London—a city where compassionate eating and drinking continue to boom.

New London pub The Spread Eagle opens this week, the first of its kind in the city. Founders Meriel Armitage (owner of vegan taco eatery Club Mexicana) and Luke McLaughlin created the concept to fill a void in London’s burgeoning vegan scene. “Being a vegan is not just about food,” Armitage told local outlet Evening Standard, “it’s what you’re drinking, what you’re sitting on, what you’re wearing.” The pub serves a full selection of vegan beer and updated bar food, including jackfruit carnitas, vegan scallops made with garlic olive-oil poached king oyster mushrooms, and a Mexican fried chicken burger Armitage said will “blow people’s minds.” A number of competing supermarkets—including Tesco, Asda, and Sainsbury’s—launched new vegan options across thousands of locations in the United Kingdom. “These supermarkets aren’t buying into veganism because of a sense of moral duty,” Armitage said. “They’re buying into it because the demand is there. I never thought we’d reach this tipping point in my lifetime.”